, today's event at the white house proves once again that more than three months after the november election, president obama still prefers campaign events to commonsense, bipartisan action. if anyone is waiting for any last-minute deals, they better not hold their breath waiting for them to come from mitch mcconnell. here's what he said to reporters a week ago. >> it's pretty clear to me that the sequester is going to go into effect. read my lips. i'm not interested in 11th hour negotiation. >> so republicans are definitely striking back at the president saying he can prevent damage to essential services by cutting from other areas of government. earlier i spoke with the republican senator rand paul of kentucky. senator, the president spoke today about those forced budget cuts. he had some pretty tough words for republicans. let me play a little bit of what he said. get your reaction. listen to this. >> so now republicans in congress face a simple choice. are they willing to compromise to protect vital investments in education and health care and national security and all the jobs that depe